Downloading movies....mortal sin?

[areniel]

Lately I've discovered that I can download old wrestling videos for free...some of which are not available by any other means, and some of which I could buy in a store.

My question is, is it a mortal sin to do this? I can make arguments for both sides...I could see why it could be considered stealing, because someone has put out a product and I'm getting it for free. At the same time though, I can liken it to borrowing a movie from a friend (this is peer to peer file sharing). I've borrowed movies from friends before...they own it, they have a right to share it, right? It's not like I'm walking into a store and stealing it off the shelf...this isn't exactly costing anyone any money since I wouldn't be buying the products otherwise.

Seems there's many shades of grey on this one.

 

[Look Homeward Anglican]

If any downloadable media is not in the public domain, then not paying the holder of the rights for it is stealing. Whether that is mortal sin or not I cannot say in this case, because you clearly didn't set out to steal and you did not know (according to your question) whether it was even illegal. There is also the possibility that, since some of this material cannot be purchased anywhere, it is not bound by rights held by any company -- in which case it would not be stealing.

 

[Vedant]

Is breaking a country's law a mortal sin?

 

[hannabl]

Not neccesarily, no.

 

[Vedant]

can you expound?

 

[QuantaCura]

can you expound?

Depends on the gravity of the law and the compatibility of the law with God's law. If a law is compatibile with the law of God, then breaking it would be at least a venial sin. Jaywalking and treason will have different gravity. If a law is at odds with God's law, then breaking it is fine.

 

[holyorders]

can you expound?

Theft have varying degrees of gravity or strength in a sin.

If a kid steals a piece of candy in a store that would not be a mortal sin but if a burglar steals all the money a family has it would be a mortal sin.


It also has to do with intention too. If someone intends to steal an expensive piece of jewelry and ends up getting a 10 cent piece of jewelry then the sin is mortal based on the intent of the sinner.

 

[Ave Maria]

I don't know if its a mortal sin or a venial sin but if the movies are not in the public domain then it is definitely one or the other because it is stealing.

 

[hannabl]

can you expound?

People above have already done this, but since I made the short statement you felt needed further explanation I'll explain. (lol, did I just write that?)

As someone said, it's ok to break the law if the law goes against God's law. If not, breaking it would be a sin, a sin that could be venial or grave in it's nature. A grave sin could be mortal, but only if the one committing the sin is a aware of the graveness.

Mortal sin is to consciously turn away from God. You don't do that unknowingly.

 

[Globalnomad]

Certainly not a mortal sin, but a sin.

I live in countries that are full of $2 pirate DVDs. We do buy them. My principle is that if it is a film that I would want to buy even at the full price (the last such cases were Hotel Rwanda, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the latest Youssef Shahine), I always buy legal copies. (I HAVE bought a few pirate copies of such films too, but only to see them sooner - I made a point of buying the full-price version as soon as it came out.) If they are films that I KNOW I would never buy at full price, then I'll just buy the pirate version if I feel like it. Ten I am not cheating the film-makers out of anything that they would otherwise get from me.

The same principle would apply to downloading, I think. As you say, it's like just borrowing it from a friend if you don't want to spend the money on actually going to see it.

 

[Franze]

I have downloaded a lot of movies, and I don´t know if it´s a sin, or not. I don´t know. Because I don´t share copies, only it´s for me.

 

[fragmentsofdreams]

It's naive to treat this identically to stealing. Downloading movies otherwise unavailable is much closer to borrowing a friend's out of print but not yet in the public domain book to the copying machine and making a copy for oneself. No one loses any goods nor the potential to sell something, so I don't see a problem with this.

Downloading something that one could buy is more iffy. I think how one uses this becomes important.

 

[aixia]

As someone who works in the entertainment industry, let me weigh in. Pirating movies/music is illegal and morally reprehensible. Downloading pirated movies/music is illegal and morally reprehensible. It is stealing, plain and simple. You are stealing not just from the rich studios and highly paid stars, you're stealing from the actor who had three lines and has to work two jobs just to make ends meet. You're stealing from the crew people who may not have a job next month because pirating problems are causing film companies to hire smaller crews to offset costs. You're stealing from the little guys, the guys who are just like you, trying to make their way through the world doing something they love to do. Frankly, you're stealing from me and my friends. I work very hard at my job, and I love it. But I don't get paid very much, and piracy is certainly not helping the situation. What might be just a little movie to you, a little distration for a couple hours, is the livelihood of thousands.

Is it a mortal sin? I don't know. But it is most definitely stealing, and that's not something I would want to have sitting on my soul.

 

[RicFlair]

Theft have varying degrees of gravity or strength in a sin.

If a kid steals a piece of candy in a store that would not be a mortal sin but if a burglar steals all the money a family has it would be a mortal sin.


It also has to do with intention too. If someone intends to steal an expensive piece of jewelry and ends up getting a 10 cent piece of jewelry then the sin is mortal based on the intent of the sinner.

just curious why jesus looks very angry in that picture you have

 

[areniel]

As someone who works in the entertainment industry, let me weigh in. Pirating movies/music is illegal and morally reprehensible. Downloading pirated movies/music is illegal and morally reprehensible. It is stealing, plain and simple. You are stealing not just from the rich studios and highly paid stars, you're stealing from the actor who had three lines and has to work two jobs just to make ends meet. You're stealing from the crew people who may not have a job next month because pirating problems are causing film companies to hire smaller crews to offset costs. You're stealing from the little guys, the guys who are just like you, trying to make their way through the world doing something they love to do. Frankly, you're stealing from me and my friends. I work very hard at my job, and I love it. But I don't get paid very much, and piracy is certainly not helping the situation. What might be just a little movie to you, a little distration for a couple hours, is the livelihood of thousands.

Is it a mortal sin? I don't know. But it is most definitely stealing, and that's not something I would want to have sitting on my soul.

I'm not downloading "movies" in the traditional sense of the word...I'm downloading old wrestling videos, most of which are not available anywhere else. I'm also not sharing these files with other people, I'm just downloading.

As well, I wouldn't be buying these videos anyway, but since they're so readily available for free by downloading it, I've been seizing the opportunity to get my hands on it.

 

[BillH]

I have no intention of ever paying for a Ferrari, as there's no way that I'll ever have enough money, and even if I did, I could never justify spending so much on a car. If somebody offers me one that I know is stolen at a knockoff price that I could afford, would that make it ok?

And if not, why is knowingly buying a pirated (i.e. stolen) movie not stealing, whether you had an intention to pay full price for it or not?

 

[New_Found_Faith]

Venial, if anything.

 

[areniel]

I have no intention of ever paying for a Ferrari, as there's no way that I'll ever have enough money, and even if I did, I could never justify spending so much on a car. If somebody offers me one that I know is stolen at a knockoff price that I could afford, would that make it ok?

And if not, why is knowingly buying a pirated (i.e. stolen) movie not stealing, whether you had an intention to pay full price for it or not?

Except the videos aren't stolen, they're paid for by the person who uploaded it, which is why I could argue that it's the same as borrowing a movie from a friend.

I think there are shades of grey here. If someone went into a movie theatre with a camcorder and bootlegged a copy, that would be something entirely different...but I'm talking about me downloading wrestling videos that have been uploaded by someone who either owns a copy or videotaped it off their own TV.

I realize there are varying opinions on this, but what I'm interested in is the Church's view on this.

 

[ps139]

If it is considered a mortal sin I will eat my hat, and videotape myself and upload it to the internet so you can all see it

A mortal sin must be a grave sin, and include 3 conditions.

I cannot fathom how illegally downloading a movie would be considered a grave sin. (i.e. really serious sin)

 

[Irenaeus]

Guys, this is how it was explained to me by someone who knows in depth the rudiments of natural and divine law.

First,

A government has only as much authority as is given to it by the natural law to execute laws for the common good. It has no binding authority outside of this.

Once music and videos are on the public domain, they are no longer necessarily anyone's property. It would be wrong to take a movie and then resell it when you did not receive it for a similar price.

"Christian economics" is based on the natural law; a thing is worth the time and effort required, and no more. Some people want to get every dollar out of their product, no matter how many times it is listened to or distributed. They are entitled to just wage (that is why there is a copyright, no one may resell it as their own matieral), just like we may copy book pages out of a public library.